Overheard: Protecting an Image

Updated March 25, 2011 7:24 p.m. ET

A nasty image articulated by Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher: "Protectionism is the syphilis of economics." Yes, it is contagious. But while some might argue protectionism stems from insanity, the other causes it.

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The line at your lunch cart feeling longer these days? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is contesting 2010 census figures for the city, saying the population may be 250,000 higher. It is unlikely the mayor has found himself waiting longer on the sidewalk for a bite. But in straitened times, the...